


The Missing Piece

by ZippyZapmeister



Series: Love Live! Birthday Festival [15]
Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Fluff, i guess, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-03-06 05:52:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13404819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZippyZapmeister/pseuds/ZippyZapmeister
Summary: Hanayo had been looking at the charm around her neck for as long as she knew what it meant.





	The Missing Piece

**Author's Note:**

> i can't lewd pana y'all it just ain't in the cards
> 
> happy birthday rice queen!

Hanayo had been looking at the charm around her neck for as long as she knew what it meant. Whenever her thoughts had gone blank, her eyes wandered back to the fragment of a heart around her neck. It was gray, and looked nothing like something that resembled love. However, she knew that one day, somebody, her  _ soulmate, _ would have the piece that matched hers, and the dull gray would morph into a violently bright red. 

 

“One day” was a bit too vague, though. That left her always wondering, always peeking around at other people’s necklaces, wondering if the piece that matched hers would find its way to her so easily. Her parents told her that it would never come so early (of course that was easy for them to say, with their glowing red pieces). However, when Hanayo looked around her in the hallways, she saw red pieces galore. Sure, many students hadn’t yet reached that point, their necklaces still blank against their chests. But others...they were so in love! Holding hands, snuggling against each other...if they were apart, they were fingering the charm around their neck and thinking of their lover.

 

Hanayo was, unfortunately, quite the romantic, and the mystery of love captivated her. Day after day, she placed her charm against a piece of paper, tracing out the rest of the heart that would complete it. Oddly, her charm was quite small, while other people seemed to have a fairly sized charm. She supposed it was indicative of her personality. She’d trace out the missing part, then roam the halls, trying not to be too obvious. Sometimes, she found others looking at hers, then shyly turning away when they realized she wasn’t the one.

 

Not everybody was as subtle as her, though. A prime example was Nozomi Tojo, a fellow member of μ’s that was more bold than Hanayo could have ever dreamed of being. Whether teasingly or seriously, Nozomi was always moving up to someone new, trying to place their charm against hers and laughing when they didn’t fit together. Some people deflated with disappointment. Others, frightened by her forwardness, seemed relieved. Hanayo imagined herself in Nozomi’s shoes; those failures would start to take their toll, definitely.

 

Except, one day, Nozomi didn’t fail.

 

They were in the clubroom, looking at the new designs that Kotori had drawn up. They looked gorgeous, but Nozomi had hardly reacted to them before her eyes were on Eli. “Hey, Elicchi. Y’know what? That charm right there looks like it’d be mighty fitting against mine.”

 

“What charm?”

 

“Your charm.”

 

“I already told you not to play these games with me, Nozomi...” Eli tried to maintain her composure, but she was flushed, pointing her eyes to the ruffles on Kotori’s skirt design. “This looks very complicated, Kotori. I hope you can-”

 

“Hey, don’t brush me off! C’mere,” Nozomi said, running up to Eli. The other members simply laughed it off, used to Nozomi’s antics. She had never tried her charm against Eli’s, Umi’s, or Maki’s, because her attempts were always stiffly denied, but she seemed adamant this time. “I’m serious, Elicchi. I think they fit.”

 

“Nozomi, affairs of the heart are serious...!”

 

“I told you, I’m being serious.”

 

Before Eli could protest anymore, Nozomi was leaning into her, lifting the charm around her neck and pressing it to Eli’s. Hanayo leaned in, ashamed of her bitter thoughts. She didn’t want them to be soulmates. She had no leanings towards either of them, but just knowing that someone else had found their soulmate while hers remained missing...

 

Sadly, her hopes were dashed when Nozomi and Eli’s charms went from an empty gray to a vibrant red, showcasing their love to all of μ’s. Eli went as pale as a ghost, staring down in disbelief, while Nozomi just smiled pleasantly. Kotori was the first to break the silence, clapping her hands together. “Congratulations, you two! Oh, I always knew it! You two are perfect for each other!”

 

One by one, the other members followed with their well wishes and cheers of happiness. Hanayo was fairly quiet, though. The other members were probably so used to that that they didn’t even notice, but that kind of quiet was different. It was the lonely kind of quiet; the kind of quiet that’s loud in all of the ways you don’t want it to be.

 

“Let’s have a sleepover tonight, at my house,” Honoka declared. “To celebrate the two newlyweds!”

 

“Now, Honoka, we’re not  _ newlyweds, _ we’re just-”

 

“Don’t be scared, Elicchi. I’ll be the best wife in all of Japan,” Nozomi teased, clinging to Eli’s arm. As hard as Eli was trying to stay stone-faced, she broke out into a smile. 

 

Hanayo felt herself grow a little emptier, but she gave the best smile that she could. “That’s a great idea, Honoka-chan.”

* * *

The sleepover wasn’t as bad as Hanayo had anticipated. While Nozomi was even more handsy with Eli than usual, Eli still gave her the cold shoulder for most of her advances. Hanayo was quite thankful for Eli’s uptight nature for once (even though she could be pretty scary). Hanayo was lost in thought for most of the time, though, thinking about μ’s and soulmates and other things that sent her head spinning.

 

Most of all, she considered what other soulmates could lie within μ’s. The odds were oh-so small when she really thought about it, but...Nozomi and Eli had been soulmates. What did probability have to do with it, then? In fact, Hanayo could name two more pairs of probable soulmates right off the top of her head: Rin and Maki, and Kotori and Honoka. Rin and Maki really didn’t bother Hanayo aside from the usual “they have soulmates and I don’t” problem. They were her closest friends, and she wouldn’t mind if they were happy together. 

 

But Kotori and Honoka posed a different issue. Hanayo liked them both. That was another roadblock in terms of her matching up her charm with someone else’s; she would have been quite disappointed if she discovered that they weren’t her soulmates. She was close with the both of them, so much that Honoka made sure that they would be in the same subunit, but Kotori and Honoka seemed closer with each other more than anything, having known each other for longer.

 

_ What a mess...I wish I could just be alone. _ Hanayo looked around her. All nine of them were in their pajamas by then, stretched out on blankets and pillows on the floor of Honoka’s living room. They were talking about memories of live shows and practices, retelling funny stories and having lovely conversations that went nowhere. Hanayo tried to distract herself from the soulmate issue and join in, but her eyes wandered to Kotori and Honoka, and the charms around their neck.

 

They were rather small, like Hanayo’s, but with a little bit of concentration, Hanayo could definitely tell that they fit together. However, something about it seemed off, when she was looking back and forth between them; almost like she was missing something, or forgetting something...

 

“Earth to Kayo-chin,” Rin called. 

 

Hanayo perked up, shaking herself out of her thoughts. “Y-yes?!”

 

“You looked like you were dozing off,” Eli said, smiling warmly. “Perhaps it’s time for us to go to bed?”

 

Hanayo wasn’t feeling the least bit tired, but she was hoping to sleep off those bitter feelings of jealousy. “Ah, yeah, I’m sorry...I’m super sleepy...”

 

Hanayo looked around the circle they were sitting in, but she was mostly focused on Kotori and Honoka. They seemed to be looking at her, half concerned and half confused. When Hanayo made eye contact with Honoka, Honoka looked away. Was that embarrassment that Hanayo saw...? “A-alright then, I’ll turn out the lights. I’ll leave the one in the hall on for you, Eli-chan!”

 

Eli mumbled her thanks, and Hanayo smiled warmly. It was just like Honoka to be so unapologetically kind. Kotori, too. Thinking about them made Hanayo feel a little bit better...

 

She wanted to tell everybody that she wasn’t really sleepy, but by the time she worked up the courage to do so, the lights were off and everybody was curling up under covers and falling asleep.  _ They all looked pretty tired, anyway. Today did have a lot of excitement, huh? _

 

It was hard to sleep, though, with Kotori on one side and Honoka on the other. Their presence was comforting, but her mind was racing with possibilities. Hanayo laid there, staring at the dimly-lit ceiling and counting sheep. Once she made it to one hundred, she imagined them jumping in reverse, then started counting down. However, she only made it to eighty-three before a whisper broke out among the light snores.

 

“Hey, Honoka-chan. You awake?”

 

“Yeah. Are you?”

 

“Um...”

 

“Oh. Yeah.”

 

Honoka and Kotori giggled. It seemed like they were the only ones other than Hanayo who were awake. Knowing how close they were, Hanayo felt like it would be rude to interrupt, but...well, Nozomi was so bold, and she found  _ her _ soulmate. Maybe Hanayo had to start reaching out a little more. “Um, I-I’m awake, too...”

 

“Yay! Hanayo-chan’s up!” Honoka cheered. Kotori clapped softly. Hanayo felt relieved that they had welcomed her so warmly. “The gang’s all here!”

 

Hanayo heard Kotori turning to her, so Hanayo turned on her side to look at Kotori, barely making out the soft contours of her face in the dark. “I thought you were sleepy.”

 

“I was, but...”

 

Honoka sucked her teeth. “Aw, jeez. Did we wake you up?”

 

“N-no! I hadn’t gone to sleep yet,” Hanayo explained, turning to Honoka.

 

Kotori giggled, and Hanayo flopped to her other side to look at her. Kotori only laughed harder. “You don’t have to keep turning to look at us, Hanayo-chan. Let’s go into Honoka-chan’s room so we don’t wake everybody up.”

 

Hanayo thought that was a great idea. After all, anybody else waking up would ruin her precious time with Honoka and Kotori. They crawled from beneath the blankets and tiptoed into Honoka’s room, closing the door behind them as Honoka turned on the light. Hanayo had been in there tons of times with them, and she never got tired of it. They sat cross-legged on Honoka’s bed, with Kotori grabbing a pillow and hugging it tight.

 

“We should have brought some snacks in here,” Honoka groaned. “Yukiho would probably get mad at me for eating so late, though.”

 

“Seems like she’s sleeping, though,” Kotori said. Hanayo tried to think of something to say, but her heart was beating so fast that her thoughts couldn’t keep up. Thankfully, Kotori turned to Hanayo and smiled. “Hanayo-chan, if you really are tired, you can just sleep in Honoka’s bed. We’ll stay up here and protect you!”

 

Hanayo flushed. “Protect me from what...?”

 

“Yukiho,” Honoka exclaimed. Honoka and Kotori laughed, and Hanayo did too. They soon fell into their regular lines of conversation, being as loud as they wanted without the fear of waking anybody up (although Honoka was the one being the loudest). It was well after midnight when Hanayo felt the excitement die down, after Honoka asked one simple question: “So, what do you guys think about Nozomi-chan and Eli-chan?”

 

Hanayo went silent, but Kotori squealed. She was so cute that Hanayo couldn’t even be angry with anybody but herself. “They’re so perfect together! Eli-chan seems a little shy, though. I think she’ll come around.”

 

“Yeah, that too, but...I meant, like...isn’t it weird? Having a pair of soulmates in the group?”

 

Immediately, Hanayo wanted to agree, but something was different about the way Honoka was saying it. Hanayo could tell she didn’t mean it negatively. “Wh-what do you mean, weird?”

 

“I never really thought about it, you know? About one of our soulmates being so close to us, without us even knowing it,” Honoka said. She paused, but both Hanayo and Kotori could tell she wasn’t done yet. Then, after a deep breath, Honoka blurted out, “Like, wouldn’t it be weird if one of us was soulmates with the other?”

 

The room went silent. Hanayo felt fear, but at the same time, a rush of joy. Honoka had been thinking about such things too? Hanayo turned to Kotori to gauge her reaction, but Kotori was looking down at her necklace, lifting her charm. “It wouldn’t hurt to try, right? At least we’d know. You first, Hanayo-chan.”

 

“M-me?! Why me first?!”

 

“I don’t wanna go first,” Honoka said, putting her hands up in front of her. “So it has to be you two!”

 

Hanayo groaned and lifted up her charm, stretching it out so that she didn’t have to move any closer to Kotori. She wasn’t sure if her heart could handle being so close to Kotori and her sweet scent. Thankfully, Kotori didn’t move too close, pressing her charm against Hanayo’s. Kotori’s was rather small, too. The odd part was, although they were both so tiny, they seemed to fit somewhat, making the two rounded peaks of a heart but missing the point.

 

“Huh...they don’t fit,” Kotori said. However, she didn’t pull back. “But they do!”

 

“They don’t...it’s just a coincidence,” Hanayo argued. Kotori was giving her quite a bit of false hope, then, but it was only making her sadder. If they were soulmates...where would that leave Honoka?

 

“We’ve had these since we were babies,” Kotori started. “Maybe we broke it along the way!”

 

Honoka leaned in to look at their partly joined charms, making Hanayo even more embarrassed. “But it would glow anyway, right? Just ‘cause they touched each other.”

 

Kotori shook her head. Hanayo wanted to pull back, but Kotori was still gripping her charm, pressing them together harder. When she suddenly stopped, Hanayo was relieved, but Kotori held her and Hanayo’s together with one hand while slowly reaching for Honoka’s. Honoka jumped back at first, but Kotori yanked it forward. “There’s three pieces to it. Look, Honoka-chan’s has the point!”

 

Hanayo and Honoka looked at each other. Hanayo probably looked like a terrified deer, but Honoka looked...excited? Kotori looked excited, too. Did they  _ want _ to be her soulmates...? Before Hanayo could think about it, Kotori was squealing, and there was a red glow coming from the joined charms between them.

 

“Seriously?! Both of you?! I have two?!” Honoka was looking from Kotori to Hanayo in disbelief. “That’s too many!”

 

Hanayo was speechless. She felt like she was frozen solid. Then, a warmth washed over her. They were her soulmates. Both of them. She didn’t have to let fate choose, she didn’t have to be lonely anymore...they were  _ hers. _ Kotori wrapped her arms around both of them, and Hanayo hugged back as hard as she could, forcing herself not to cry.

* * *

“And then Kotori-chan grabbed  _ my _ charm, and she pressed it on her and Hanayo-chan’s, and they turning red! I’m serious! You should have seen it!”

 

Hanayo hadn’t known it would be so embarrassing to be on the receiving end of all of those congratulations, but it felt nice. As soon as everybody was awake, Honoka was screaming about their experience the night before, recounting it all in great detail (although she left out the part where she started weeping from happiness, and Kotori had to say it for her). Hanayo could only nod. She was sure that if she opened her mouth, she’d end up doing nothing but declaring her love for Kotori and Honoka as loudly as she could.

 

Thankfully, the only person that really took notice of her was Rin, who bumped her with her shoulder. “Congrats, Kayo-chin!”

 

“Thank you,” Hanayo said, nudging her back happily.

 

“I never would have guessed. I didn’t even know people could have two soulmates. I’ve probably only got one...” 

 

“That’s alright! I’ll be just as good as a second soulmate,” Hanayo said, grabbing Rin’s hand. 

 

Rin laughed; it seemed like she was only feigning sadness. “That’s okay. You’ve got two of your own! Besides, our kind of love is different, nya.”

 

Hanayo looked at Kotori, then looked at Honoka, and realized that Rin was right. The feeling that they gave her was hers, only hers, and she was glad that she had it.


End file.
